All fifty states and the District of Columbia require infants and toddlers to be securely fastened into car seats while riding in a moving automobile. An additional requirement is that infants under 20 pounds must ride in a rearward-facing child seat. As a result, many child seats are designed to allow rearward or forward orientation of the child. However, with the advent of the airbag that inflates upon impact, the traditional child seat poses significant hazards to the seated child. For example, if the child is placed in a rearward-facing child seat, an inflating airbag can quickly catapult the child seat and the occupant into the back supporting member of the car seat, which may pin the child between the car seat and the child seat, or worse, crush the baby's legs or arms.
Furthermore, placing the child in a forward-facing child seat does not protect the child from an inflating airbag. In this position, the child may be smothered by an airbag that presses against the child's face during inflation, or the child can be burned from the intense friction that results from the movement of the inflating airbag across the non-moving child. Another potential threat is caused by flying debris that often result from the inflation of the airbag. There are numerous cases of injuries to passengers, including children seated in child seats, that are the result of trim panels that separate from the dashboard as the air bag inflates. Such injuries are currently the subject of investigation by the Transportation Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Danger of Dashboards, Air Bags Probed by the U.S., The Wall Street Journal, Jun. 19, 1995, at A7.
It is known that child seats can be equipped with sun visors and windshields, but this existing equipment does not attempt to protect the child from injuries associated with airbags. The prior art fails to adequately address airbag injuries. Perhaps this is due to the fact that airbags have only recently become widely available. Also, airbags are generally available only for the front seat driver and the front seat passenger, but in the near future, automobile manufacturers will be offering rear passenger airbags that are mounted in the backs of the front seats. The problems posed to children riding in child seats will then become even more prevalent. Some car manufacturers are considering installing switches to selectively activate and deactivate airbags. Using switches, however, is not the answer because they require human input, and a driver can easily forget to adjust the switch for each change in passengers.
One previous attempt to provide protection for children riding in child seats is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,837, issued to Roach. The patent to Roach discloses a "safety shield" that attaches to the upper portion of a car seat to protect the baby primarily from prolonged exposure to sunshine, but also to protect the child's head from impact during a collision. This shield offers protection only for the child's head. Moreover, because of its shape, there remains the possibility of injury by an air bag during a collision. For example, the air bag could pinch the baby's fingers along the edge of the shield, or could even pinch the baby along the baby's middle and lower body, each of which could pose serious injuries.
Another attempt to protect children with child seats is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,695 issued to Von Wimmersperg. The patent to Von Wimmersperg discloses a "safety seat" that incorporates a stretchable head-restraining member to absorb the momentum of the baby during a collision. The distinguishing features here are two fold: 1) the head-restraining member is designed to engage the baby's head during the impact and slowly absorb the momentum, which action would be interrupted by an inflating airbag; and 2) the head-restraining member offers no protection from an inflating air bag.
Still another child seat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,879 issued to Miller. The patent to Miller discloses a protective seat for motorcycles and snowmobiles which is formed of a rigid body receiving structure with rigid side walls and with a hinge-mounted, transparent bubble type hood. Miller's rigid walls and hood are intended to provide the protection which is missing in most child seats because automobile seats rely upon the automobiles that carry them to provide protection against impacts. The rigid, hinged bubble hood used here is very different from the "roll-top" hood envisioned by applicant's invention. For example, a hinged hood would never work inside an automobile because there would be insufficient head room to allow for a complete opening of the hood.
Still another is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,727 issued to Potts. The patent to Potts discloses a "weather guard" for attachment to a child seat to protect the child against wind, rain, sun and irritants. While the design is not intended to protect against collisions, it undoubtedly provides some assistance. Still, like Roach above, the shield offers protection only for the child's head. Moreover, because of its shape, there remains the possibility of injury during the inflation of an air bag. For example, the air bag could pinch the baby's fingers along the edge of the shield, or could even pinch the baby along the baby's middle and lower body, each of which could pose serious injuries.
Yet another attempt is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,879 issued to Costa. The patent to Costa discloses a windshield assembly for a child seat which is to be used in a convertible top automobile. While the shield ostensibly provides frontal protection against wind, it also has the potential problems of pinching a baby's arms and fingers because its shape allows the baby arms and hands to reach around the shield. Additionally, the shape is such that a baby could hit his or her head against the shield during an impact. Finally, the shield must be removed (as opposed to being rolled towards the back) in order to remove the child.
The above devices fail to set forth a child seat that achieves the degree of effectiveness as the present invention in reducing injuries to the child as the result of an inflating airbag. The present invention meets these needs by enabling the child to enjoy the ride though a clear protective covering in a forward facing child seat, and yet allowing the supervising adult to quickly and easily place and remove the child in a protective seat.